Automobile door latch



2 Sheets-Sheet l Inuemor mbe E Licmeigz A. F. LICKTEIG AUTOMOBILE DOOR LATCH Filed June l5, 1927 H JHM i) Dec. 10, 1929.

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vDec- 10, 1929 A. F. LlcKTElG l i 1,739,154

AUTOMOBILE DOOR LATCH Filed June 1:5, 1927 2 sheets-Sheet 2 Patented 10, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ALBERT F. LICKTEIG, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, T0 NATIONAL BRASS COMPANY, 0F GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, A CORPO- BATION 0F MICHIGANv l AUTOMOBILE Application led June 13,

This invention relates to a door latch and particularly one which4 is'adapted for application to automobile doors. It is the primary object and purpose of the present invention to produce a simple and economically constructed latch for automobile doors which can'be manually operated at either the inner or outer side of the door andwhich is particularly effective in service.

An understanding of the invention may be had from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying draw-I ings showing the preferred embodiment of my invention in which,

Fig. l is a side elevation of the door latch disclosed herein, looking from the exterior of the vehicle, door structure being omitted.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through a door e uipped with the latch, the major portion of the latch structure being shown in lan. p Fig. 3 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken throu h the vertical edge portion of the door andg tion being lengthwise of the latch bolt.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig.' 1 showing the latch bolt retracted. l

Fig. 5 is a view similar to those shown-in Figs. 1 and 4, illustratin the osition of the parts when the latch bo t is ocked against movement. Y

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary elevation of the inner side of the housing plate of the latch, and

Fi s. 7 and 8 are elevations of two of the memers of the latch.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different gures of the drawings.

The door latch is ada ted to be applied to an automobile door 1, wliich at its inner side is provided with suitable mortices 2 in which the mechanism is housed, it, of course, being understood that the latch is mounted on the wood frame of the door Which is covered at its outer side with sheet metal and at its inner side with any suitable lining.

In the construction of the latch a rectangular plate 3 of metal is provided, at its outer edge formed with a lip 4 bent nearly at right angles thereto. The lip bears against the the latch, the plane of said sec- C which has DOOR LATCH 1927. Serial No. 198,474. y

vertical edge of the door and the plate 3 bears against the inner side thereof covering the mortice 2 and is secured in place by screws or other suitable fastenings. Near the inner edge of the plate and between its upper and lower edges two spaced apart tongues 5 are struck and bent inwardly at right angles. In addition two other and smaller tongues 6 are struck inwardly from the plate nearer its lower ed e and substantially midway between its iront and rear edges. The purpose of these tongues will later appear. In the plate 3, in a plane substantially midway between the planes of tongues 5, slots these slots are in alinement with each slot 7 being located in front of slot 9 and it in turn in front of slot 8 which is open at its rear end at the outer edge of the plate 3. At the front end of slot 9 it is provided with an upwardly extending and somewhat rearwardly curved branch slot 10, as shown in Fig. 6. A circular opening 11 is also made in plate 3 near its front edge while an openother,

ing 12 is made through the lip 4 for the passage of the latch bolt. A U-shaped stirrup having upper and lower legs 13 with a connecting portion 14 is fastened to the inner side of the plate,'the free ends of said legs being riveted or otherwise permanently secured thereto, and against the underside of the lower leg 13 the upper edge of the latch bolt bears.

Latch bolt 15 is equipped wit-h an outer head 16 of usual construction which passes through the opening 12. The bolt at one side bears against the inner side of the housing plate 3 and at its upper edge against the lower side ofthelower leg 13 of the stirrup described. Bolt 15 is formed with a longitudinal slot 17, closed at both ends as shown.

Connected with the bolt is a member 18 of Vfiat metal which has a circular opening 19 therein (see Fig. 7) for the passage of a headed and shouldered pin 20, which passes through slots 7 and 17 and through the opening 19. The member 18 is also provided with a horizontal slot 21 back of the opening 19 an upwardly and rearwardly curved branch slot 22, at its inner end, the

7, 8 and 9 are cut. All of rear edge of which is formed with a somewhat raised projection or hum 22a. At the front upper corner of the mem er 18 an arm 23 is provided which normally extends into the stirrup described, between the legs 13 thereof and between the late 3 and the connectin portion 14 of sai stirrup. A pin 24 headed at both ends passes through the slot 9 in the plate 3, then through an opening in the front end of a link 25 and thence through the slot 21 in the member 18, as best shown in Figure 3. Said link 25 lies between the plate 3 and the member 18, which member at its rear end portion is guided between the two tongues 5, previously described. A in 26 is permanently secured to link 25 a istance back of its front end which is slidably lreceived at the slot 8 and has the usual head at its outer end.

Pivotally connected to the link 25 at its rear end, by means of a pivot pin 27, is a second link 28 which extends rearwardly and is pivotally'connected at its rear end to an operating arm 29, lying between an attaching plate 30 and a second stirrup 31 secured at the inner side of said attaching plate. The attaching plate 30 is permanently secured t0 the inner side of the door and Carries a handle 32 which has a stem rotatably mounted in and passing through said plate 30 and stirrup 31, the arm 29 being fastened on said stem so as to turn with the handle.

The inner side 14 of the stirrup carried by plate 3 has an opening located in alinement with the opening 11 in the plate 3 in which openings a hub 33 is mounted for rotative movement. From the hub a finger 34 extends upwardly directly in front of the front end of the arm 23 previously described. The hub 33 has a square opening for the reception of the shank 35 of an outside door handle 36 (see Fig. 2) whereby said hub may be rotatably operated. A spirally coiled spring 3T has one end received by the two tongues 6,-

while the other end bears against the inner end of the locking bolt 15, normally acting to project the bolt upwardly.

It is intended that with the construction described the bolt may be readily retracted by turning the handle 36 whereby'the finger 34 will be moved from the position shown in Figure 1 to that shown in Fi ure 4, acting upon the member 18 and movlnfr it and the bolt to retracted position.- The Ilink 25 will not change 4position by reason of the slot 21,

throu h which the connectin pin 24 joins said link and member 18. It 1s also evident that on operatin the. handle 32 in one direction, Aor so that t e arm 29 is moved` from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 4, the bolt will be retracted. This prvides for opening the door from either its mner or outer side.` A

With the bolt in its normal position, as shown in Fig.1by turning the handle 32 so as to swing arm 29 .in a counter-clockwise direction, or to the position shown in Fig. 5, the links 25 and 28 will be moved to the osition shown, link 25 turning about axis o pin 26 and causing the pin 24 to traverse the two branch slots .10 and 22, pin 24 passing over the projection or hum 22a and seating in the recess of the slot 22, a ove such projection or hump. The pin 24 is therefore held in the position to which it is moved and serves as a positive lock against longitudinal movement of the latch bolt.

It is evident that the construction which'I have devised is not only capable of serving all of the purposes of an automobile door latch but that it may also be made to serve as a lock operatable from the inner side of the door for locking the doors before leaving the 'automobile. All of the doors, exce t one, may be thus locked from the inner si e and the one through which the driver leaves the automobile maybe locked with a key from the outside in the usual manner.

The construction described is relatively simple,`readily manufactured and assembled at low cost, is quickly and easily installed and in every way serves the purposes for which 1t is designed. The invention is defined in the appending claims and is to be Consldered comprehensive of all forms of structures coming within their scope.

I claim: t v

1. In a latch for automobile doors in conibination with a. slidably mounted latch bolt, spring means for normally projecting the latch' bolt outwardly, a slidably mounted member having a sliding connection with the latch bolt, means for manually operating said member from one side of a door for retracting the latch bolt, a second manually operable means operable from the opposite side of the door connected with said member for retracting the latch bolt on moving said second means in one direction, and means for locking the said member against retraction on movement ofsaid second manually operable means in the opposite direction.

2. In a latch for automobile doors, the comber and manually operable means connected with said link and operable at the inner side of the door for moving said member and the latch bolt connected therewith to retract the latch bolt when the second operable means is moved in onedirection, said link when the second manually operable means is moved in the opposite direction moving intol position with respect to said member to lock it against retraction. f

3. In a door latch, a supporting plate for attachment to a door, lon itudinal slot therein slidably mounted on t e plate whereb it may be projected outwardly or retracte spring means normally tending to project the bolt outwardly, a member slidably mounted. on the plate having a longitudinal slot therein and a branch slot extending upwardly and to the rear from the rear end of saidslot in the member, a pin passing through said member and the slot in said latch bolt, said plate having a slot therethrough provided with an upwardly extending branch at its front end, a link, a pin extendinU thru the front end of the link and through the slots in said member and plate, a second slot in the rear edge of the plate in alinement with the first slot therein, a pivot pin passing through the link between its ends and riding in said second slot, manually operable means operable from the outer side of the door for engaging against the front end of said member to retract it and the bolt attached thereto, a second link pivotally connected to the'rear end of thel first link at its front end, an arm pivotally mounted on the door to which the rear end of said second link is pivotally connected, and means for turning said arm in either direction about a horizontal axis from the inner side of the door.

4. A construction containing the elements in combination defined in claim 3, said branch slot in said member at its rear edge being formed with an inward projection and over which the pin through the front end of the first link frictionally rides when said arm is turned in one direction thereby locking said bolt against retraction and yieldingly holding said pin in position where it will maintain its locking relation.

5. An automobile door latch comprising, a supporting plate, a latch bolt slidably mounted thereon, a member slidably mounted on Athe plate and having asliding connection with the latch bolt, manually operable means operable from the outer side of a door on which the plate is to be mounted and engaging against the frontend of said member for retracting the same and the connected bolt, a handle pivotally mounted on the inner side of the door, means connected with said handle and o eratively connected with said plate and mem er for retracting said member and the attached bolt when turned in one direction and for locking the member to the plate against retraction by said manually operable means when turned in -the opposite direction.

6. In combination a late adapted to be attached to a door, a latcli bolt slidably mounted on the plate, a member slidably connected to the latch bolt and slidably mounted on the plate, a spring. acting on the latch bolt to nora latch bolt having a' mally project it outwardly, a handle to be mounted on the door at the outer side thereof, means connected to the handle and operable thereb engaging against said member to retract the latch bolt when the handle is turned in one direction, a second handle mounted for rotation at the inner side of the door, a link pivotally and slidably connected between its ends on said plate, said link at its forward end having a sliding connection with the plate and said member, means connecting the second handle with said link whereby when the second handle is turned in one direction the link engages with said member for moving it and the attached latch bolt to retracted position, and when turned in the opposite direction pivotally moves said link about the pivot between its ends so as to lock said member to the plate, substantially as described.

7. A latch for automobile doors comprisin a plate adapted to be attached to a. door, sai plate having a horizontal slot with closed ends cut therethrough, a second slot having an open rear end adjacent its rear edge in horizontal alinement with the first slot and a third sot located in horizontal alinement between the first and second slots, said third slot at its front end having an upwardly extending branch, a latch bolt slidably mounted on said plate, said bolt having a longitudinal slot closed at both ends at its inner portion, a member of Hat metal lying at its front end against the rear end of the latch bolt, a pin extending through said member and through the slot of the latch bolt, said member having a horizontal slot cut therethrough and a branch slot curved upwardly and to the rear from the rear end of said slot in said member, said member being slidably mounted on the plate to move in the same direction as the latch bolt, a link, a pin passing through said link between its ends and seated in the second slot in said plate, a headed pin passing through the front end of said link through the slot in said member and through the third mentioned slot in said plate, a spring| acting on the rear end of the latch bolt normally tending to project it outwardly, a handle adapted to be mounted on the outer side of the door, means on the handle engaging with the front end of said member for movin the same to retract it and the connected itch bolt on turning the handle in one direction, a second handle mounted for turning about a horizontal axis on the inner side of the door, an arm extending upwardly from the inner end of said handle and a second link connecting the free end of the arm with the first end lof the first link, whereby on turning the handle in one direction said links, member and latch bolt are moved to retract the latch bolt, and upon turning the handle in the opposite direction turns the first link about the pivot mounted on said plate and moves the pin carried at the front end of the rst link into the branch slots in said member and in said plate, thereby locking said member against sliding movement and lockin the bolt against retraction by the first hand e.

8. A construction containing the elements in combination defined in claim 7, said branch slot in said member at its rear side having a projection extendin thereinto over which the pin carried at the ront end of the first link rides when the pin traverses said branch slots, said pin being frictionally retained back of said projection until released by turning the second mentioned handle in the opposite direction.

operable member, and means comprising two links pivotally joined together, one of said links being connected to said manually operable member and the other of said links being joined to said retracting member whereby v movement of said manually operable member in a direction to pull the links will cause them to assume a relatively alined position and to move the said retracting member to retract the bolt and movement of the manually operable member to push the links will cause the links to assume a relatively angular position, and means moved by said links when in said angular position to render said retracting member inoperative.

10. Anautomobile door latch comprising, a plate, a latch bolt slidably mounted thereon, spring means for yieldably projecting said latch bolt, a movable member associated with said 'latch bolt for retracting the same, a manually operable member, and two links pivotally joined together, one of said links being connected to said manually operable member and the other of said links being joined to said retracting member whereby movement of said manually operable member in a direction to pull the links will cause them to assume a relatively alined position and to move the said movable member to retract the bolt and movement of the manually operable member to push the links will cause the links to assume a relatively angular position, and

4Ineans'associated with said retracting member and said plate moved by said links when in angular position to lock the movable member to the plate.

11. An automobile door latch comprising, a plate having a longitudinal slot and a lateral slot communicating therewith, a latch bolt slidably mounted on said plate, spring means to normally project said` latch bolt, a movable member associated with said latch bolt for retracting the same movable in the direction of thelongitude of said longitudinal slot, a manually operable member, two links pivoted together, one being joined to said manually operable member and the other bein pivotally joined to said retracting mem er and a pin mounted on the last named hnk and extending into the slot in the plate whereby movement of the manually o erable member to ull the links will cause t em to assume a re atively alined position and move the pin into the said longitudinal slot and movement of the manually operable member to push the links will cause them to assume ya relatively' angular position, and move the pin into the said lateral slot.` v

In testimony whereof I aix my signature.

f ALBERT F. LICKTEIG. 

